Monthly Report on Retention, Persistence
& Graduation Initiatives
Insight Improvement and Innovation for Impact : An Introduction.
At Texas Tech University, our challenge is more than
increasing student retention; it is also enhancing student
success along the many possible paths to graduation.
Fragmented efforts create silos, communication problems,
confusion in student referrals, duplication of efforts, and lost
opportunities. So far, Texas Tech’s experiments have proven
valuable, e.g., colleges reallocating scholarships to support
student persistence, dedicated advisors engaging prospective
transfer students, and award-winning programs serving our
military veterans and families.
To build on these successes, The Office of the Provost
appointed a small team to design and test new efforts like
student data-mining, electronic collaboration, and advisor
professional development. The University is seeing the
impact of collaborative and research-supported initiatives,
particularly in areas most needing improvements. In 2012
Texas Tech was named one of Education Trust’s “Top Gap
Closers,” raising graduation rates for Hispanic and AfricanAmerican students by more than 18 percentage points
between 2004 and 2010. Texas Tech is now ready to extend
these initial successes by rethinking retention efforts through
the focused lenses of research and creativity.
This new initiative has three parts: Insight, Improvement,
and Innovation for Impact. The mission will support success
through insights provided by people and data, improvements
in existing efforts, innovation and experimentation, targeting
positive institutional impact. Beyond disseminating best
practices, its first focus is to inform the retention goal-setting
and program evaluation process by connecting and analyzing
existing data from as many sources as possible. Success will
require many short- and long-term partnerships.
According to the “College Board Study on Student
Retention: How Colleges Organize Themselves to Increase
Student Persistence,” Texas Tech’s funding of this initiative
has already broken the mold; our leaders have recognized
the weaknesses of unfunded and anecdotal or efforts that
rely solely on influence to accomplish widespread change.
Involving academic affairs and student affairs units,
student organizations, study abroad, active learning such as
undergraduate research and service learning offerings, Texas
Tech will begin studying the impact of these engagementoriented offerings in conjunction with their support-oriented
cousins, instructional approaches, delivery models, curricular
experiences, and student behaviors. Through transparency,
inclusion, dialogue, and research, these new initiatives
aim to generate sustainable campus-wide transformation
emphasizing every educational experience with every student.
KPI: Student Retention as Continuing Enrollment
30
20
40
60
026628
70
30
80
20
90
10
92.41%
10
0%
Fall ‘12 to
Spring ’13
100
0%
40
60
024447
Spring ‘13
to Fall ’13
30
70
80
20
90
10
88.15%
100
40
60
027088
70
80
92.18%
90
0%
Fall ’13 to
Spring ‘14
For each period specified, these dials depict the percentage of the initial term’s total undergraduate
enrollment who graduated or persisted into the next long term.
100
Monthly Report on Retention, Persistence
& Graduation Initiatives
Current Institutional Interventions
Persistence People
Supplemental Instruction
Advising Academy
College Spotlight
What is it?
What is it?
Free weekly, review sessions for courses that
students tend to struggle with most. Sessions
are facilitated by SI Leaders- peers who have
previously excelled in the course.
Seven professional development sessions
over one year. Participants complete a selfassessment authored by the Council for
the Advancement of Standards in Higher
Education and develop improvement plans for
individual, program, and university use.
Why is it important?
Sessions incorporate what to learn with how
to learn. Interactive learning strategies such
as handouts, games, discussion, and activities
are utilized. Sessions offer a structured study
group.
What are the outcomes?
SI reduces rates of attrition and improves
student grades. In Fall 2013, of the 3,549
offered SI, roughly half chose to participate.
A substantial difference in the two groups is
seen as 74% of SI participants earned a grade
of A, B, or C, compared to only 53% of the
non-participating students.
How can I do it? …
To inquire about having SI a part of your
course, please contact the SI Unit Cordinator,
Corie Hernandez, corie.hernandez@ttu.edu.
Why is it important?
Advisors have the opportunity to provide a
human connection and personalized guidance
that make more manageable the challenges of a
large university.
What are the outcomes?
Beyond the benefits of realistic self-appraisal
and proactive improvement, the Academy
facilitatescollegial networking across
institutional divisions, collaborative problemsolving, research-based advising, and the
establishment of meaningful and assessable
measures of student learning related to the
advisor-student relationship.
How can I do it? …
Discuss the opportunity with your supervisor and
contact Joshua Barron, joshua.barron@ttu.edu.
Institutional Improvement Ideas & Opportunities
Persistence and success are bolstered when students articulate and aggressively pursue
informed academic goals. Faculty and staff can be key in catalyzing and leveraging this
purposeful motivation.
After-the-fact analysis of a group’s performance may be helpful for the future, but today’s
students stand to benefit from more immediate guidance, encouragement, and use of available
resources; this requires institutional awareness and proactivity. Could improvements be found
through more meaningful early- and mid-term grades, better marketing of support to studentsin-need, or greater faculty involvement in SI offerings? These ideas are only a beginning.
Because collaboration is essential for sustainable innovation, ideas are invited. Please
dialogue by sending your eureka moments to iiii@ttu.edu.
Human Sciences
By supporting their advisors’
participation in the advising academy,
the College of Human Sciences is investing
in its people, something that isn’t new
for the leaders in this college. Their
academic disciplines focus on healthy
and productive relationships, so it is
no surprise that they are working
to improve campus collaborations,
individuals’ skills and organizational
efficiencies.
Associate Dean Mitzi Lauderdale
is leading the charge in this area.
For more information on the Human
Sciences approach, contact mitzi.
lauderdale@ttu.edu.
Faculty Spotlight
Michael Dini, Ph.D.
Dr. Dini is well-known for
the academic rigor of his
courses, but something
that is less well-known is
his commitment to student
success in and beyond the
classroom. As a partner
with Supplemental Instruction (SI),
Dr. Dini has implemented each of
the 4 key SI practices and taken his
support to a whole new level. Dini has
incorporated SI to be included in his
syllabus. He gives specific details about
the SI leaders, sessions, and importance
of SI. By introducing the SI leaders early,
he can better promote the importance
of SI to student success in his course.
Dr. Dini strives to assist students in
realistic self-appraisal, clarified values,
use of time, effective preparation
techniques, and informed academic
choices.
Staff Spotlight
Joshua Barron, MBA
Research Recap
In his second keynote at Texas Tech, George
Kuh recently urged the Advancing Teaching
& Learning Conferencve participants to focus
on student persistence, not merely retention.
Relational engagement that carries students
through the challenges of academic rigor
and personal mistakes can be found in many
places, particularly ten high-impact practices.
George Kuh, Ph.D., is Adjunct Professor of
Education Policy at the University of Illinois
and Chancellor’s Professor of Higher Education
Emeritus at Indiana University (IU). Dr.
Kuh founded IU’s Center for Postsecondary
Research and the National Survey of Student
Engagement (NSSE) and related instruments
for law students, beginning college students,
and faculty.
Mr. Barron serves the
campus community as the
retention, effectiveness,
and advising liasion. Joshua
focuses his professional
efforts on equipping,
organizing, empowering,
and supporting efforts to serve students,
particularly through program consulting,
advisor professional development and
training, retention intelligence, and
technological innovation.
To engage Mr. Barron or learn more
about the work of “Four-Eyes,” contact
joshua.barron@ttu.edu.